LilyFrances and Rupert met in high school, but did not become friends until after graduating. Their first date was at the local zoo (in Asheboro, NC). One year later, the couple return to the zoo for their anniversary and Rupert proposes. Within months the couple have an intimate beach wedding with family. They honeymoon at the NorthCarolina beach where they were married. They move into a small, quiet community and a white, colonial house.

2012: It does not take LilyFrances and Rupert long to settle after their marriage. LilyFrances takes a job as a librarian and Rupert takes a job as a state park ranger, and the couple makes enough money to discuss having children within the first year. LilyFrances decides she does not yet want to take time away from work, so they agree to foster a young girl, a 6 year old named MargotWinterEvans. Margot moves in with the couple and their family life begins.

2013: The next year starts happy, with Margot enjoying her life with her new foster parents. By February, things take a turn when DexterElias Brail, Rupert's single-father cousin passes away after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He leaves his three children to Rupert and LilyFrances. NigelJack Brail (4), and twins HugoEzra Brail (2), and CharlesOscar Brail (2).

2014: This year, LilyFrances writes her first book, a biography entitled "Mother of 4 before 24", where she discusses the excitement, hardships, and rewards of taking in four children. Her book is successful and she is invited to speak on the Ellen Degeneres show. This experience sparks LilyFrances' career as a novelist.

2015: Margot and Nigel have done well in school and the twins are adjusting to spending their afternoons in daycare. LilyFrances and Rupert continue with their careers, until one day LilyFrances feels strange. She sees the doctor and discovers she is unexpectedly pregnant. This will be her and Rupert's first child. While it is a surprise, the couple could not be happier. By the end of the year they have a new little girl in the family: EvelynReid Brail.

2016: LilyFrances and Rupert need more space. Their starter home is becoming increasingly full. Luck is on their side when Rupert's job transfers him to SantaFe and the family is given a bonus to buy a home. At this time, Rupert's income is supplemented by LilyFrances' writing. To help with finances even more, the family invests in enough land to start a small ranch and begin their work on becoming self-sufficient. Since the family moved from NorthCarolina to New Mexico, their options were to either return Margot to custody of the state, or attempt to adopt her themselves. LilyFrances and Rupert are granted the adoption of Margot.

2017: The family is happy with their new life in New Mexico. By early 2017, things have calmed enough that LilyFrances and Rupert can relax into their lives. This relaxation leads to a very pleasant surprise when 9 months later they are greeted by their second daughter, CiaraNiamh Brail.

2018: Life on the ranch is so scheduled and expected (even with surprise pregnancies) that LilyFrances and Rupert start to feel bored. Rupert decides to take the family on a summer long trip to South Korea. While visiting, LilyFrances learns of an adoption group that welcomes Western travelers. She and Rupert decide to visit the group one day. They leave with a two-year-old girl, Hae-Won Alice Brail.

2019: LilyFrances and Rupert spend a great deal of time discussing their family and how wonderfully it has grown. They even consider having their first planned pregnancy, but their busy life of work, writing, ranching, and children seem to prevent any true efforts. They decide it just isn't meant to be, and that perhaps their family is complete. That is until LilyFrances becomes unexpectedly pregnant for the third time. By December 2019, LilyFrances and Rupert have their first biological son, FelixRoland Brail.

2020: A letter comes in the mail one day addressed to Rupert. He is busy with work, so LilyFrances opens it. She calls him immediately to tell him that his joke isn't funny. He asks her to start over and explain from the beginning. She tells him about the letter, and that's when Rupert discovers that his paternal great-uncle passed away, and having no children or grandchildren of his own, has left his inheritance to be split between his surviving family members. The estate is significant, and LilyFrances and Rupert receive $5,000,000. This money is immediately put into savings to help with the children's futures.

2021: With their new fortune, LilyFrances and Rupert feel secure enough in their finances to try for their first planned pregnancy. They do not have any trouble getting pregnant and are soon blessed with another daughter, Looper Amelia Brail.

2022: The house now has 9 children and still plenty of room to grow. Margot is nearly 16 years old and has requested a pet. The family has a ranch, so their are plenty of animals to take care of a play with, but none of the children have ever had pets of their own. Rupert takes Margot to the shelter and the two return home with a female GermanShepherd mix named Bethesda.

2023: The family still has nine children. With such a large number (and with LilyFrances turning 33 this year), the couple decides to try for their last pregnancy, hoping to make the children an even 10. It does not take long for LilyFrances to notice that this pregnancy seems different from previous ones. She is gaining weight faster than she remembers doing for her past children. When she goes in for her ultrasound, she discovers it is not a single pregnancy. In fact, the Brails are having triplets. After 7 months of pregnancy, Rupert and LilyFrances welcome daughters BeatriceHelene Brail, FionaAgnes Brail, and HenryFinn Brail.

2024: LilyFrances and Rupert are afraid some of the children will be upset with the addition of three. The children love having so many siblings, and the family is as close as ever. Nigel, who is now 15, approaches LilyFrances one day with a request. Since Margot has her own pet, he would like one of his own. LilyFrances tells Rupert who agrees that since he is the same age Margot was when she received her first pet, he could have one of his own. He picks out a small Manx kitten, whom he names Gus.

2025: Margot goes to college. She decides to attend the University of Southern California and is majoring in Zoology. The house seems a lot emptier with her gone, but LilyFrances and Rupert are proud of her for getting accepted into her top pick. She comes home for all major holidays.

2026: The triplets are now almost three. Everyone is happy and healthy, but LilyFrances notices that Henry is not learning at the same pace as his sisters and the older children. She takes him to a doctor, who confirms he has a form of Autism. His case is comparatively mild, but LilyFrances conducts a lot of research on the topic. She and Rupert decide to start a charity organization designed to raise money for Autism research. She hopes to help determine all possible causes, methods to help with development, and to raise school funds for children with Autism. Her charity is a branch of Autism Speaks.

2027: The family has perfected the management of responsibilities. The older children help with the smaller children, and everyone helps with the ranch work. When LilyFrances' sister (RamonaVioletBellamy) decides to move in the Brails after she separates from her husband, things become easier. Ramona is a wonderful aunt and does a lot to help around the house, including most of the cooking.

2028: LilyFrances is approaching 38. The Triplets are almost 5, and Rupert misses having babies in the house. He approaches LilyFrances with a request. He wants to try for one last pregnancy. Hugo and Charles will be leaving for college this fall, and the house number would be down to 8. LilyFrances could not be happier, and the couple try to conceive. Unfortunately they are unsuccessful, and rather than turn to fertility, the two decide to adopt a baby. They take in a baby boy whom they name LiamShepard Brail.

2029: Margot is now finished with her Bachelor's degree. She visits the Brail home one day with her boyfriend, PhineasArthur Potts. The two announce that they plan to be married before the end of the year. LilyFrances and Rupert are completely happy for their daughter.

2031: Margot announces she's pregnant! LilyFrances and Rupert become grandparents for the first time a year after they became parents for the last time. Margot and Phineas have a little girl whom they name NoahLark Potts.

Year 17: Something happens to your home and your family is forced to move in with relatives. How does that work out? How long are you there for? What does your new home look like (if you manage to get one)?
We have a house fire. The space is limited but DH's sister loves having us there. We are there for a few months until we could buy another home. http://easttexashomesandland.com/wp-...stone-home.jpg

Year 1: Clairie and Jude decide to establish a charity foundation for children and families affected by childhood cancer. The foundation, called Knots of Love, sends woven bracelets and large checks to the children, their families, and research facilities.

Year 2: When Jude, who is in the military, gets transferred, the relatively-newlyweds say good-bye to their Swiss town and move to Liverpool, England. Their new house is a three-bedroom, old, brown stone home surrounded by trimmed green bushes.

Year 3: Clairie and Jude meet a boy called SamsonMichael McCartney through Jude's job. He is eighteen, divorced, and living alone. Samson's new girlfriend, though, is pregnant, barely making any money, and has already made it clear that she wants nothing to do with the baby. Clairie and Jude adopt Samson's daughter when she is born, and they call her SkylarElizabethMatthews.

Year 4: Clairie, who is a champion equestrian, wins a dressage show. With the winnings of 250,000 pounds, the family is able to fix up their house, donate a good sum to Knots of Love, and help Jude's eighteen-year-old half-sister JohannaReeceLangley out of debt.

Year 5: Jude and Clairie decide to try and have their first biological baby, and when they do they wind up with triplets! Three healthy baby boys are born eight months later. Clairie and Jude call them ChaseMichael, JackSamuel, and SpencerLucas.

Year 6: The family of six relocates to a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, when Jude is again transferred. The new house is white with blue shutters and has a sprawling yard dotted with oak trees.

Year 7: Clairie's good friend from high school, BreannaCaitlin Hightower, dies in a car crash. When the will was read, Breanna had left her three-year-old son to Clairie. Because nobody knew of the little boy's father or his family, Clairie and Jude fly out to Missouri and adopt Breanna's son. His name is BraydenJoseph Hightower.

Year 9: Jude finishes serving his military time and the family doesn't have to move. So, they go on a vacation to the beach in Florida and spend days and nights at a resort. Everyone has a great time.

Year 10: Clairie and her neighbor, Nathalie Pennington, start an arts shop in the town. Its name is Pennington's and it sells expensive pens, journals, paint brushes, paints, canvases, the like.

Year 11: Jude's favorite cousin, Colin Hathaway, loses his wife. The family moves to Phoenix, Arizona, to be closer to their family. The new house is light brown sandstone with a red roof. The porch is covered with bright flowers in clay vases.

Year 12: Clairie's friend from Knots of Love, KeiraWylie, dies of very fishy unknown causes. Her husband is nowhere to be found, and neither is her family, so the state of Louisiana lets Clairie and Jude adopt Keira's three-year-old son, NathanRobertWylie.

Year 13: Colin Hathaway's daughter, Jessenia Hathaway, has just started preschool when she comes home telling of two kids who sat behind her school and asked the teacher for something to eat. This shocked both families, and the Matthews notified the police. The police found out that the kids, a boy and a girl, were twins being deprived of food by their mother for two weeks. The mother lost custody, and through lots of court cases and hearings Clairie and Jude are able to adopt the twins. The twins are five and named MitchellCameron and AllysonMarie.

Year 15: The family gets interviewed on a talk show because one-year-old Cecilia took an IQ test and got 157.

Year 16: Clairie and Jude hear, through a friend, about twin boys left on a highway and now in need of a good family. Clairie and Jude adopt the four-week-old boys and call them DavidAnthony and ColeBrandon.

Year 17: The family is again interviewed on a talk show. This time for having so many kids.